MicroWEB Acceptable Use Policy

Internet - Terms and Conditions

1) Acceptable Use - MWEB is a private, commercial gateway to the global internet. Commercial activity and advertising is permitted within the general guidelines of the internet community (see sec. 4). Transmission of any material in violation of any US or state regulation is prohibited. This includes, but is not limited to: copyrighted material, threatening or obscene material, or material protected by trade secret.

Since the Internet is a public communications network, any use that would not be permitted via public telephones or U.S. mail is not permitted on the MicroWEB system.

2) Privileges - The use of internet is a privilege, not a right, and inappropriate use will result in a cancellation of those privileges. The system administrators will deem what is inappropriate use and their decision is final. Also, the system administrators may close an account at any time as required.

3) Netiquette - You are expected to abide by the generally accepted rules of network etiquette. These include (but are not limited to) the following:

a) Be polite. Do not get abusive in your messages to others.

b) Use appropriate language. Do not swear, use vulgarities or any other inappropriate language. Illegal activities are strictly forbidden.

c) Each mailing list or newsgroup has its own set of guidelines. It is recommended that you observe the tone of messages on a mailing list or newsgroup for a while (at least a few days and perhaps up to a month) before posting. The FAQ (frequently asked questions list) for most newgroups and lists is available by ftp from rtfm.mit.edu.

d) Note that electronic mail (e-mail) is not guaranteed to be private. People who operate the system do have access to all mail. Note that an MWEB employee will not view a user's email without just cause. However, messages relating to or in support of illegal activities may be reported to the authorities.

e) Do not use the network in such a way that you would disrupt the use of the network by other users. (see sec. 4)

f) All communications and information accessible via the network should be assumed to be private property, i.e. it is not appropriate to publicly post the contents of a private email message without the concent of the author.

4) Spamming - Spamming is a particular violation of internet acceptable use and it has been on the increase. When a user posts a clearly commercial message simultaneously to many off subject newsgroups and/or mailing lists, this is called spamming. It is also spamming when a large number of unsolicited email advertisements are sent to individual people. This usually results in many (hundreds, thousands, or more) flames (inflamatory emails) being sent to the originator of the spam. The problem here is that the system can get overloaded and we may even be forced to shutdown until the tirade is over. In this case, MicroWEB Technology reserves the right to hold the user financially responsible for damages. If you are in doubt about this please check with us.

Similarly, you may not use any address connected with the MWEB system in a spammed mailing.

5) Security - Security on any computer system is a high priority, especially when the system involves many users. If you feel you can identify a security problem on the MWEB system, you should notify a system administrator via e-mail admin@mtiweb.com. Do not demonstrate the problem to other users. Do not use another individual's account. Attempts to login to MWEB as a system administrator will result in cancellation of user privileges. Any user identified as a security risk or having a history of problems with other computer systems may be denied access to MWEB.

6) Passwords - It is advised that you change your given password as soon as possible. Your password is the first line of defence for a secure system. 72% of all system breakins are due to poor password selection. Please follow these guidelines to choose your password:

a) do not use any words that can be found in a dictionary.

b) do not use any foreign language words.

c) do not use any proper names;

d) Do use a mix of upper and lower case letters, numbers and special characters (!@#$%^&*?).
The system regularly scanned for insecure passwords.
To change your password, use the password web screen, or the passwd command in the shell.
Please remember your password. The MWEB staff cannot find your password if you forget it, however, we can reset your password if necesary.

7) Vandalism - Vandalism will result in cancellation of privileges. Vandalism is defined as any malicious attempt to harm or destroy data of another user on MWEB, or any of the other networks that are connected to MWEB via the internet. This includes, but not limited to, the uploading or creation of computer viruses.

8) Changes - This Acceptable Use Policy may be changed at any time by the administrators of MicroWEB. In such cases, sufficient notice will be posted on the MicroWEB web site user page http://www.mtiweb.com/users.html.

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